<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>We Meet Again by blue87</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30091785">We Meet Again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue87/pseuds/blue87'>blue87</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the Runtime Error [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Five Nights at Freddy's, Treasure Planet (2002), Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:42:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,480</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30091785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue87/pseuds/blue87</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ok, this isn't book 3, it's a short story. We wanted to get a good setup for book 3, which will be the 4th installment of this series... but yay for weddings!! </p><p>They all met up again after a few years!!<br/>This was so fun to write! Hope y'all enjoy!! Have a wonderful day!! :D</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>the Runtime Error [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We Meet Again</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daria smiled as she fixed the bottom of the long dress’s skirt. It hit the ground perfectly all around the bottom, the fabric flowers flowing gracefully down the cotton skirt.  </p><p>She looked up into the mirror as Sarah ran over, more bobby pins in hand as she picked up another piece of Daria’s hair. She braided the last few inches of the braid crown she had weaved her hair into over the past several minutes. “Are you excited?” she asked, noticing Daria looked a little off. “Oh, yeah I am!! Just a little nervous.” Sarah smiled, “Understandably, Jim can be a lot haha!”  </p><p>Daria looked up, “No no, I’m not nervous about that necessarily. He’s great and I’m so excited. It’s more all the people, I haven’t seen a lot of them in a while.” Sarah nodded, “Yeah, makes sense. But you’ll have fun!!” Daria sighed, laughing as she stared down at the bracelet she still wore on her wrist that Jim had given her years before, “Yeah...”  </p><p>Sarah moved a few pieces of hair over Daria’s shoulder, “done!” Daria looked up in the mirror. There was a braid crown around her head, the rest of the hair underneath was curled neatly. It went very well with the white dress she had on. She stood up, walking over to a full-length mirror as Sarah clipped in the veil underneath the braid on her head. The lace was spotted with the same flowers that were on her dress.  </p><p>She pulled the sleeves of her dress down to her wrist, admiring the long sleeve lace that covered her arms. She sighed, looking up at herself. She was marrying Jim. And it wasn’t just one of the fake weddings that Ellie held for kicks and giggles and excuses to hang out. He had asked her to marry him, he loved her. And she loved him, more than anything else. She smiled looking up at Sarah through the mirror, Sarah returning the gesture.  </p><p>They both jumped a little as they heard a knock on the door. Sarah called over, “come in!!” The door swung open and in walked a girl, about the same age as Daria. She was wearing a lacey royal blue dress with a black backpack on her back. She ran in charging straight for Daria.  </p><p>“Ellie!!” Daria shouted, running over to greet her friend. “Dar! I’ve missed you!!” Daria stepped back smiling, “I’ve missed you too, how’ve you been??” Ellie laughed, “Who cares about my life you’re marrying Jim Hawkins!!!” Daria laughed, blushing a little.  </p><p>“I love your dress oh my word!!  You look gorgeous, Jim is going to DIE!” Daria smiled, “Thank you!” Sarah walked over. Smiling, she handed Daria a bouquet of flowers. “Oh thank you!” Sarah nodded, “kinda need them haha!” Daria laughed, “this is Ellie by the way, we were friends back in my world!” Sarah smiled, “nice to meet you!” Ellie smiled in return, “nice to meet you too!”  </p><p>Right as Daria went to say something, they saw a head peek around the corner of the door frame. The girl laughed, walking into view. She was wearing a royal blue dress similar to Ellie’s, but lighter. Her hair, curled into waves and pulled to the side, bounced around as she jogged into the room. A blonde-haired girl with curly hair following. She as well, was wearing a royal blue dress, longer than the other girl’s dress with a mesh like fabric skirt following behind her as she ran in after. </p><p>“Charlie! Susie!” Daria called out, racing to them as Ellie followed. The four came together into a big group hug. “Hey guys!!” Susie and Charlie both said. “Hey! How are you guys?” Charlie laughed, “greeeaaat, how are you??” Daria laughed, “kinda freaking out haha” Susie smiled, “aw don’t be nervous! You two are so cute together!” Daria smiled, blushing again. </p><p>Ellie laughed, “Hey wait Susie, speaking of which, are you and Gabriel still a thing?” Susie smiled, “Yeah haha!!” Daria gave Susie a look and almost said something before she saw another head peek around the corner.  </p><p>“Hey, uh, not coming in but just wanted to see where you guys were at?” Susie laughed, “She’s almost done I think?” Daria gave her a thumbs up, “yeah she’s almost ready, I’m coming just wait a second!” She turned to the group, “seeing as no one knows what’s going on and the boys are too scared to talk to people and ask questions, I’m going to go. See ya after everything is over, and good luck Daria!!” Everyone said good bye and Susie ran out the door, Gabriel moving enough to be recognized as they heard their voices move farther down the hall. </p><p>Charlie turned back to the group, “you feeling any better Daria?” Daria ran her hands down the side of her dress as she breathed in, “I think so. I mean, I have to be I guess.” Charlie laughed, “guess so... Don’t stress, it’s just Jim!” Daria smiled, laughing, “yeah, I don’t know why I’m so stressed.”  </p><p>Sarah put a hand on Daria’s shoulder, “It’s your wedding Daria, you have every right to be stressed. Just, try not to let it get in the way too much, we have everything under control and I don’t want planning to ruin your day.” Daria smiled, “Thank you Sarah.” Sarah smiled, “I’m going to go check up on everything outside, I’ll come get you when everything is ready!” Daria nodded. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Jim paced the room, Silver eyeing him trying to figure out what was wrong with the boy. “ye alright lad?” Jim stopped, looking up, “Yeah! Yeah! Just great.” Silver chuckled, “What’s there ta worry about! We've got ever’thin covered!” Jim sighed, leaning over a table in the room, “I know I just- I don’t want to mess anything up.” Silver laughed, “Lad, if anytin, ye mess up and the lass ‘l like ye even more!!” Jim laughed, “I don’t deserve her.” Silver rolled his eyes, “she chose ye tho. She really does love ye, ye know.” Jim laughed, “I’d hope so, seeing as we’re getting married.”  </p><p>There was a knock on the door. Jim walked over and opened it to see his mother. “aww look at you!” She laughed, “all dressed up.” Jim rolled his eyes sarcastically as he hugged her, “everything ok?” Sarah smiled, “yup! We’re all good, just wanted to see if you were all ready?” Jim looked back at Silver who nodded, “yeah, yeah we’re all good.” Sarah nudged her head down the hall, “then come on down!”  </p><p>Jim laughed, “alright. One second.” Sarah nodded her head, turning around to walk back to the room filled with people. Jim looked back at Silver who was holding out the coat to his tux for Jim to take. “This is it lad.” Jim smiled, taking the jacket from Silver and putting it on, “Yeah, it really is.”  </p><p>They both walked out the door and made their way down the hall. They were greeted with lots of “hello’s”, Jim mainly just smiling in return except for when he saw the missing children and Sans. He walked over to them, “Hey guys how are you all doing!” Fritz laughed, “Good how about you?”  </p><p>Jim smiled, “Great.” Sarah walked over to the group, “Silver, do you want to go get Daria please?” Silver laughed, “o’course!” He turned around, heading for the stairs as he waddled up them, Sarah grabbed Jim’s arm. “You ready?” Jim chuckled, “yeah.”  </p><p>The others sat down in chairs that were set up in the large room as Sarah lead Jim up to the front were he stood. The crowd went silent and now all that was left was to wait for Daria. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>The three girls were chatting amongst themselves as they heard a knock on the door followed by Silver stepping in. “I believe it’s time fer ye to go out Daria.” Ellie and Charlie wished their friend good luck as they left the room going down a separate hallway to enter the big room through another door in the back.  </p><p>Silver watched as they left before turning to look at Daria again, “ready?” Daria clenched her fists, trying to stop them from shaking, Silver noticed. He frowned, “ye alright lass?” Daria smiled, “yeah, I’ll be fine!” Silver held out his hand, Daria taking it as he lead her to the hall, “that’s ta spirit.” He said.  </p><p>They walked down the hall, stopping at the end. Silver peeked his head around the corner and gave Sarah a thumbs up. Daria sighed, still trying to conceal her shaking. She slowed her breathing as she heard the music start. Silver grabbed her hand and she rested it on his arm, he smiled at her and they walked out.  </p><p>She took her first steps looking down at the ground trying not to trip on her dress. The way the dress flowed around her feet made her feel like she was floating. She smiled looking up, making eye contact with Jim. He was standing there smiling like an idiot, Daria smiled at him, she could feel her face go red and looked away. She finished the last few feet of the aisle and was soon standing next to Jim.  </p><p>Before they knew it, they were married. It was official.  </p><p>Jim grabbed her hand and they walked down the aisle Daria had previously walked down, going straight through the crowd of smiling people. Some people had decided to leave right after the ceremony, but others had decided to stay.  </p><p>They spent the next 3 hours talking to various friends that they had made in the Academy until Jim pulled Daria aside. He led her up the stairs and to the end of the hall where there was a table and two chairs set up. He pulled out the chair for her and she sat down, taking his own place across from her as he wrestled with the chair. </p><p>He looked up at her, pulling a weird smile as Daria rested her head in her hands blinking quickly, they both laughed. Jim looked down the hall, “so uh, how’s life?” Daria laughed, “We just got married and the first thing you ask is how's life??” Jim shrugged, “never know!” he laughed. “You’re so weird” Daria continued to laugh. Jim smiled, “You married me.” Daria looked at him, “I never said I didn’t love you because you’re weird...” She looked down at the table, grabbing Jim’s hand, “it’s cute” Jim smiled, squeezing her hand, “I’m going to go grab us some food, be right back.” He stood up, walking around to Daria and kissing her forehead before going to grab the food.  </p><p>Daria sighed; it had been such a great day already and it was only dinner.  </p><p>A few short minutes later, Jim walked back down the hall. He placed a plate of food down in the middle of the table along with two drinks.  </p><p>“Hey hey” he said sitting back down again. “hey hey!” Daria replied. Jim sat up in his chair, “so I was talking to Sans, they’re all just going to do their thing tonight and then we will do stuff together tomorrow.” Daria smiled, she had almost forgotten that everyone was here. “Are they all together down there?” Jim nodded, swallowing the food that was in his mouth, “They’re all eating together, yeah” Daria smiled, “good!” Jim laughed, “yeah, you gonna eat anything Dar?”  </p><p>Daria shrugged. Jim picked up a small brownie off the plate and held it out to her, “Take it, you gotta eat something!” Daria smiled, taking the brownie from his hands and biting off a corner. “what’s the plan after this?” She asked.  </p><p>He looked up at her, “From what I understand from my mom? Honestly nothing, just partying. Then sleep. And more sleep. Then breakfast tomorrow. Then partying. Then more sleep.” Daria laughed, “Considering how tired I feel? Sounds fabulous.” Jim laughed, “Yeah me too.”  </p><p>They chatted for almost 45 minutes until Sarah came looking for them. “oh there you guys are! I’ve been looking for you” Jim smiled, “sorry” Sarah laughed, “No no, it’s no problem at all!! Are you guys doing alright?” Jim looked at Daria who smiled, “Yeah we’re just great!” Sarah smiled, “good!! That's all that matters!! Just wanted to see if you wanted to do the cake!!” Daria smiled, she had almost totally forgotten about the cake, “Oh yeah!” Jim laughed, “of course!”  </p><p>They walked down the stairs to see that most of the people had gone home, except for their closest friends. Daria didn’t mind, they did just disappear for an hour at their own event. She loved it though. They walked over to the cake, Sarah carefully handing Jim the knife.  </p><p>As their friends gathered around, they cut the cake. Daria had made the decision to smash the cake in Jim’s face, she didn’t feel guilty as it was also Jim’s plan to smash the cake in hers. </p><p>The rest of the night was what Daria could only explain as pure joy. She had a blast hanging out with her friends, but she couldn’t be happier with the fact that she was now married to Jim.  </p><p>The last guest that wasn’t staying at the house that night left at around 11pm and everyone decided to turn in for the night. Daria couldn’t think of anything else except about how happy she was. To her, Jim meant everything and now, they would be together forever. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>The next day was a reunion day for Daria, Ellie, and the rest of their gang. While the wedding hours ago got them together, it wasn’t really a chance to catch up. So, they found themselves in the private dining room at the Benbow Inn, sharing breakfast while they told each other about the last few years occurrences. </p><p>“So, how’s Vanessa doing?” Daria asked, picking up her drink. “Way better,” Susie replied. “She told us she started therapy and she’s opened up her own Fazbear franchise. It’s way better than the other ones-she actually wants to make it a magical place for kids, you know?” </p><p>Ellie smiled. “That’s great, I’m happy to hear she’s recovered so well.” Charlie nodded in agreement. “You know, when you get past all the cult behavior stuff, she’s actually really great to hang out with. She comes to visit a lot; always shows us the new stuff she’s been working on.” </p><p>Gabriel nodded. “She’s pretty artsy too. Makes really cool animatronics out of junk from the carpark. You guys have to check it out sometime.” Charlie giggled. “Especially the one she made for Halloween, that one did not turn out like she thought it would. Anyway, how have you been, Sans? You haven’t told us about what you’ve been up to,” she said, giving him her full attention. </p><p>The skeleton shrugged, casually leaning back in his seat. “Not much. Frisk doesn’t do much resetting anymore, and I think she’s actually stopped. We’re on the surface now,” he said with a slight grin. “Although,” he continued. “I’ve been seeing some weird anomalies in our world code, I meant to ask if maybe Ellie could come check it out or something? Just to verify,” he said, looking her direction. </p><p>Ellie nodded. “Sure, no problem,” she said. Since graduating high school, she’d taken up mechanics and game development classes at the local community college and had quickly climbed to more difficult studies because of her experience and preconceived knowledge. Looking into game code was her cup of tea. </p><p>“Great,” Sans said with a relaxed grin. “We can go tomorrow morning since everyone’s leaving then anyway. Does anybody wanna come with?” He asked, looking around at the table. The day before, they had planned several hangouts for the next few months to stay in touch better, especially since now their schedules were all a little more open. </p><p>“Sure!” Charlie said happily. “I’d love to come.” Jeremy nodded in agreement. “Me too,” he said, adjusting his glasses. Daria and Jim looked at each other and nodded. “Count us in. How about you guys?” Daria said, looking at the others. Fritz and Susie shook their heads. “Maybe next time. We promised Vanny we’d help her test her new robots,” Gabriel said, one arm around Susie's’ shoulders. </p><p>Sans nodded. “Alright, then. Looks like we’ve got a plan.” The others began to talk again when Sarah entered the room, an empty tray tucked under her arm. “Jim? Dar? Some academy officials are here to see you,” she said, pointing back to the main dining room. The two stood and followed her out, leaving the others still seated.  </p><p>“Hey, let’s go help Sarah clear tables,” Susie said, standing. The others got to their feet and began to leave, though Charlie and Sans lagged behind.  </p><p>“Man, I haven’t been to the Underground in forever,” the girl said with an awkward chuckle, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, not much has changed I don’t think,” Sans said with a casual grin, looking at her out the corner of his eye. </p><p>“Actually, I was wondering...do you maybe wanna go to Grillby’s with me when we get there?” The skeleton asked hopefully. Charlie stopped and looked at him, surprised. “Like...just us?” She questioned. Sans shrugged nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sure, um-unless you want anyone else to come.” </p><p>Charlie smiled wide. “Sans, I’d love to!” The skeleton looked at her in surprise, apparently not expecting that answer. “Well-great! Yeah, awesome!” He said clumsily with a grin. “Hey! You guys coming?” Gabriel called from the dining room. </p><p>“Coming!” Charlie answered. She felt her face flush a little as the skeleton gave her arm a little nudge and hurried past her. She was going out with Sans. Tomorrow was going to be great. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------- </p><p>“Mom, we’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t worry,” Jim assured Sarah, handing Daria her coat. “I just want you two to be safe out there,” the woman said, turning her gaze to the others. “All of you. No crazy adventures-come back in one piece this time.” Jim chuckled and hugged her with a smile. “I’m a naval captain mom. I think I’ll be fine.” </p><p>Sarah shook her head with an unwanted smile. “I know...hard to believe sometimes. Now hurry out before I change my mind about this,” she said, shooing them away. Ellie typed a stream of code on her laptop and hit enter. With a flash, they were gone. </p><p>For once, they didn’t appear in Snowdin. “Really?” Ellie said with exasperation, stepping out of the glowing river in Wetlands. Charlie, Sans, and Jeremy were already climbing onto the bank, waiting for Jim and Daria to show up. Since they parted years ago, the two had been working on re-engineering the watches they acquired from William so that they could teleport without laptops. This was their first major try. </p><p>A high-pitched buzz echoed over the caves before the two materialized behind them. “Hey, that worked pretty well!” Daria said with a smile, adjusting her watch’s calibrations. “Why are you all wet?” She asked with an eyebrow raised, glancing at their soaked feet and legs.  </p><p>“I accidently landed us in the river. Don’t know how though, I thought I had everything coded right,” Ellie said, annoyed. “Well, let’s go to my place before Temmie finds us,” Sans said, turning back to Snowdin. </p><p>It took them a while, but they finally started to Sans’ door. He pulled out a key and unlocked it, letting them in. “We didn’t have many encounters,” Ellie noticed. “Well, most monsters are on the surface now, including me and Pap. A surprising number of them wanted to stay here though. Grillby’s got a new restaurant up there, but he does lunch and dinner in the Underground on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the monsters still here,” Sans said, flicking on the light. </p><p>“That’s cool,” Jeremy said, taking a seat next to Ellie at the table. “Uh huh. Well, let’s take a look at this,” she said, opening her laptop. For a moment, she stayed quiet, clicking open different files before she paused, eyebrows drawn. “Is this it?” She asked, turning the laptop so Sans could see. He leaned in closer to see it. “Yeah...but it’s gotten worse-way worse.” </p><p>The neon code was mangled, some characters much larger than they should be, some smaller. Incoherent lines broke and flickered, some with numbers and letters that just didn’t make sense. “I wonder if...” Ellie trailed off, looking at the teleportation code. “Wait-the code line to get us out of here is like this too,” she said. </p><p>“What does that mean?” Charlie asked. “I-” Ellie began, typing the characters to get them back to Montressor. Nothing happened. “Daria, try using your watch.” </p><p>The girl looked down and adjusted location points and tried working it, but just like the laptop, it remained ineffective. Charlie tried using her magic to no result. “That’s not good,” Ellie muttered. “Sans, when did this start?” </p><p>The skeleton frowned, scratching his skull. “About a week ago? Nothing was this bad then though.” Jeremy looked at the laptop. “Guess we’re stuck here until we fix it then,” he said. Ellie nodded.  </p><p>Suddenly, the code began to glitch wildly, showing new characters that flashed off and on the screen, sometimes freezing. “What is that?” Charlie questioned in concern. Ellie squinted at the lines in worry. “Wing Dings...it’s in Wing Dings,” she murmured, shock on her face. “What?” Sans demanded, looking at the laptop. Sure enough, the font was there flickering. </p><p>“But that means...” Ellie said, looking at the skeleton. </p><p>“Gaster,” Sans muttered. “We need to go to the True Labs.” Charlie looked at the two in confusion. “And do what?” She asked. “Look for anything out of the ordinary. If Gaster’s doing this, then we’ll be able to find clues there,” the skeleton said. He straightened. “We need to leave. Now.” </p><p>The group walked out of Sans’ house, past the bakeries and shops to the snowbank, where, thankfully, the Riverman still held his post. “Hotlands,” Sans said firmly, not waiting for the figure to ask. The man simply nodded, and the boat jumped up enthusiastically, bounding over the water towards the Capitol. </p><p>“Why do you think Gaster would do this?” Ellie asked the skeleton, looking back through the code. “Dunno. I could teleport in and out just fine before you guys showed up. Which makes me wonder...” he trailed off quietly. “What?” The girl questioned. “He noticed us coming in today. He probably noticed when you came last time.” </p><p>“Which means...?” Ellie said, glancing back at the others who were talking to the Riverman. “You’re anomalies. All of you are. You know how crazy Gaster was...especially about his experiments. The only other interesting thing he’s had since he was here like normal was Frisk and the resets, which, I think he already knew was coming. Whatever he’s doing now involves you guys, and I don’t think he means to do good,” the skeleton remarked quietly. </p><p>Ellie felt the color drain from her face. While not much was not known about Gaster, people in her world had some pretty good ideas about the evil he was capable of. Before she could say so, the boat lurched to a stop, causing the passengers to hold onto the seats to prevent themselves from crashing into the person ahead of them. </p><p>“Here we are!” The Riverman said cheerily. As the group clambered out clumsily, he turned his hooded head to the red rock and shook his head. “Uh oh...suddenly feeling tropical,” he exclaimed. “Well, tra la la, good day...or night,” he said, directing his boat backwards. </p><p>Charlie shot Ellie a look as the man left them. “He just gets weirder and weirder every time I see him,” she muttered, hurrying to follow the others, led by Sans at an unusually quick pace. It took them short minutes to reach the lab and to then pass through to the True Labs. </p><p>Charlie manifested a glowing white orb in her hand for light as they passed through the grimy corridors. “What about Alphys? And the amalgamates?” Daria asked worriedly. “All on the surface,” Sans replied. “Great. The only thing we’ve got to worry about is a psycho scientist and mysterious puddles,” Ellie remarked sarcastically. </p><p>Jeremy snorted, about to comment when a low buzzing filled the hall, its intensity almost deafening. “What’s happening?!” Charlie yelled as the floor began to shake. The others began bracing themselves on the walls. Sans grabbed Charlie’s wrist firmly, trying to steady both of them before the tile beneath them vanished, plummeting the group into darkness. </p><p>They fell for what seemed a while before they landed. It didn’t hurt, not really. The ground felt odd, with the coolness and texture of water, but still firm. “Woah,” Jeremy moaned, clutching his head. “Where are we?” Jim asked, peering upwards.  </p><p>A hole the shape of the hallway allowed white light in... before it shrank, closing. They could still see each other as well as they could if they were outside, but everything around them was inky black. </p><p>“I think...” Sans said, looking around. “I think we’re in the void.” </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Daria looked around, pushing herself off the floor and turning to help Jim do the same. “Lovely, how do we get out?” She asked the skeleton. Sans shrugged, “dunno...” He reached out his hand to help Charlie off the ground, “I’ve never been here, I knew it existed but never got the chance to actually come here.”  </p><p>“ok, what do we do?” Charlie asked. “uh... I don’t really know. But someone brought us here, I have a bad feeling it’s Gaster.” Charlie frowned, looking around. Jim was the first to step out into the darkness. The moment he did, there was a loud bang from behind them. Everyone turned around, startled. Sans slowly crept forward, taking in a deep breath before calling out into the thick darkness that surrounded them. “hello?”  </p><p>There was a noise that somewhat resembled a cough, sans squinted his eyes, “who’s the-” He was abruptly cut off by a dry harsh voice coming from the same direction as the commotion, “what have you been doing sans.” Charlie put a hand on Sans’s shoulder as she walked up to stand next to him, “what was that.”  </p><p>Sans stared into the darkness, “it’s gaster.” he breathed, “he wants to know who you are.” Charlie looked at him, concerned, “so can’t you just tell him?” Sans looked up at the girl, “he’s not the most understanding skeleton. Don't tell him anything.” Charlie didn’t look more comforted, she stared back at the skeleton with a very worried look on her face before looking back at the others.  </p><p>Sans stepped forward, “what’s with the wingdings.” He waited, “what have you been doing.” Sans rolled his eyes, “drop the wingdigns and I'll tell you.” There was a pause before the raspy voice started again, “what are you doing sans.” Sans looked up, surprised that he had actually gotten the old skeleton to talk. “What do you mean what am I doing! You're the one that brought us here! Now stop hiding, coward.” The voice laughed, goosebumps appearing on her arms as she remembered William laughing the same way. </p><p>They watched in the direction of the voice as footsteps could more noticeably be heard. Jim grabbed Daria’s hand as he pulled her back a little bit to stand by Ellie and Jeremy behind them. Charlie stood her ground next to Sans. </p><p>After a few seconds of listening to the steps echoing in the void, a round, white, cracked skull appeared from the shadows. The darkness around them matched the color of the mess that his head was sitting on. The man looked like a lump of black slime with a skull and two hands sticking out from the front of it.  </p><p>Sans stepped back. He knew that Gaster was still alive, he had talked to sans through code several times since he fell into the core, but he had never seen the skeleton in person since.  </p><p>The melted figure of what used to be a monster looked up at the group, eyes wide open with a crack running through one of them as his smile slowly grew. He looked up at Sans. Charlie noticed he was still slowly moving forward. “what are you doing sans.” Sans glared at the creature, “nothing that concerns you.” Gaster let out a glitched laugh, “everything concerns me.”  </p><p>“heh, not my fault you can’t walk across a bridge without falling.” Sans snapped. Gaster’s smile slowly fell into a frown as he started noticeably walking faster toward him, “you know how dangerous and foolish it is leaving here using nothing but code? I’ve noticed it all from the beginning. I’m afraid it’s time you stopped.”  </p><p>Sans reached behind him and grabbed Charlie’s hand, pulling her next to him, “they were helping us. heh, I guess that is the one thing you never understood, helping other people. makes sense why you’re so sensitive about this all.” Gaster stood taller, “you think this is a game Sans. They do not belong here.” The skeleton glared up at the group. </p><p>“Actually, I was going to just ignore this all, let’s just say that I changed my mind.” Sans looked up at him, a look of confusion covering his face.  </p><p>Gaster’s eye started to glow a lighter shade of white as he continued looking at them. Sans stepped backwards, gripping Charlie’s hand even tighter as he tried to use his magic to teleport the group away. It didn’t even take him a second attempt to know that Gaster had taken the privilege to block that ability of his. They were on his turf anyways. </p><p>Charlie could tell that Sans had tried to teleport away; she knew she wouldn’t be able to. The void was way too big for her to travel outside of it using what little power she had. She looked over at Sans who was staring down the older skeleton.  </p><p>She turned her head and looked back at the other four in the room, if Ellie could somehow get a file up without being noticed she could try and change the restrictions on teleportation and get them out of here. She saw that the girl had already slowly slipped her bag off her shoulder and was opening a silver laptop, hiding behind the other three in an attempt to not get caught. </p><p>“I can come back you know. All I need is someone smart enough to do it.” Gaster finally spoke, “Which I’ve conveniently noticed that some of your friends here are quite familiar with code.” Sans continued glaring, “what makes you think I would help you.” Gaster raised his hand as it suddenly lit up blue, grabbing a hold of Charlie’s soul as he raised her off the ground, “I have a few deals that I think would sound rather intriguing.”  </p><p>Sans looked away from Charlie back at Gaster, “hurt her at all and I will make your miserable existence here far worse than you could ever imagine.” Gaster smiled, closing his fist as Charlie pressed her hand into her chest to try and stop the burning, “I would love for you to do that.” Sans’s eye started to light up a little before Ellie walked around the others, laptop in her hands as she smiled, “I don’t think that’ll work today seeing as we’ve got to go.” She looked up at Sans, “now.” Sans’s hand lit up and they all glitched away, reappearing in the swampy mud of Waterfall. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Charlie was surprised to find herself standing when they landed. Whenever she did it they normally ended up on the ground, she was impressed.  </p><p>They all naturally looked at Sans, not having to talk to each other to know they all wanted an explanation. Sans chuckled, “sorry about that.” Charlie looked him dead in the eyes, “who was that and what did he want?” Sans blushed, “uh... well.... he’s an... old friend. He uh fell into the core, if you remember what that was. He occasionally talked to me through code when I started leaving, but I never thought he’d actually care about it so much. I'm so sorry”  </p><p>Charlie shook her head, “no it’s ok. We just need to figure out what to do now.” Jeremy looked up, “but didn’t he say he was stuck in the void or something? If he can’t get out then we’re good right?” Sans frowned, “yea technically. But he can bring us back there. Now he knows that we have a way out he’ll block it.”  </p><p>“so what do we do?” Jim asked. Sans thought for a moment, “he wants to get out. That's why when he saw that all of you guys knew to some extent how world code like that worked, he wanted us to get him out.” Everyone nodded, “so why can’t we just get him out then?” Charlie asked. </p><p>Sans laughed, “If there’s one thing I remember about gaster, it’s how much he hated people other than him tampering with time lines. And time lines are part of the code. If we bring him back, I'd be willing to bet money the first thing he’d do is come straight for you guys.” Charlie let out a nervous laugh, “oh uh, yeah that makes sense.”  </p><p>Daria looked up at sans, her expression still proving she was confused, “but why didn’t he do any of this years ago?” Sans looked away from the group, “i don’t... know... I mean I told him it was all frisk and flowey which he believed because I hid-” His eyes widened, “the coordinates.” Charlie raised her eyebrow, “huh?” Sans looked up at her, a frantic expression on his face, “the wedding I- dang it!”  </p><p>Charlie shook her head, “sans what are talking about?” He put his hands over his eyes, “when I first came with you guys, I knew he could track me so whenever I did anything I made sure to cover my tracks, it was second nature seeing as I did that anytime I teleported, inside my game or not. I didn’t do anything for the wedding, I forgot when I left and he tracked me. GAH I'm so stupid!”  </p><p>Charlie frowned, “hey don’t say that. You’re not stupid, and it’s ok we just need to figure out a way to really trap him in the void! Maybe make it so his coding abilities are restricted and he can’t bring us there anymore?” Sans rested his elbows on his legs, still holding his head up with his hands, “i guess that would work.” Charlie looked over at the other 4, “Ellie?”  </p><p>Ellie smiled, “I can look at it!” She slid her backpack off and pulled out her laptop, sitting down on a rock nearby as the others did the same. “soooo we just more like, layers, I guess you could say, to the void? Make it so he’s really stuck down there?” Daria lifted her head up, “hey Ellie” Ellie looked over, “remember host privileges in Minecraft?” Ellie nodded her head, “what if you made something like that and blocked certain things that gaster can do? If that’s even possible...” Ellie smiled, “that’s a great idea, it’ll take time though.” </p><p>Sans looked up, “how long?” Ellie shrugged, “The void is pretty big haha, way bigger than what we trapped William.... which is fine just I'll have to put more restrictions on, I’d think maybe two days. But I don’t know for sure.” Charlie looked over, “sounds good, but gaster pulled us into the void, who’s to say he won’t do it again?”  </p><p>Sans looked up at Charlie, “i know that he has energy, like me. After he uses the energy he slows down, he’s not as slow as I am, but I think we’ll have time.” Charlie smiled, “alright.” She looked over at Ellie, “that sound good then?” Ellie smiled and gave her a thumbs up, “for sure!”  </p><p>Sans stood up and walked over closer to wear the rest of the group was, “we can hangout here or go back to Snowdin for the next few days.” he offered. The group looked at Charlie who shrugged, “Snowdin? I don’t know!” Sans laughed, “snowdin it is!” They all stood up and followed him over into the bushes nearby as they made their way to the snowy town. </p><p>Sans unlocked the door to his house, holding the door open for the others as they piled in to escape the cold. Papyrus was sitting on the couch, “AH! FRIENDS! YOU’RE BACK! AND SANS!” everyone waved and sans walked over to him, “heya pap” Papyrus hugged his brother, “HELLO! HOW WAS THE WEDDING?” Sans smiled and nudged his head over at the group, “i dunno, ask the couple.”  </p><p>Papyrus turned around, “AH! I SEE! HOW JOYOUS! I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU TWO!” Daria smiled as Jim grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, “thank you papyrus!” she responded. “heh yeah, thanks!” Jim added, staring down at his wife who’s head was resting under his. </p><p>“WELL WHAT CAN I DO? YOU MUST BE HUNGRY!” sans smiled, “yeah.” “I’LL MAKE SPAGETTHI!!” he cheered, Ellie laughed, “that would be great papyrus! Thank you!” Sans tugged on Papyrus’s arm, whispering something to him as Papyrus nodded. He turned to head for the door, “ALL OF YOU FOLLOW ME THEN!!”  </p><p>Everyone started to follow. Charlie was stopped as Sans grabbed her arm and pulled her back, “wanna go to grillby’s?” Charlie smiled, “of course!” sans chuckled, “alrighty” He opened the door behind them and the two stepped out. Charlie catching a smiled and a thumbs up from Ellie and Daria before the door closed behind her. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>“Lucky for us, Grillby’s is just right across the street,” Sans joked as they squinted through the setting fog. “No kidding,” Charlie agreed, keeping close to the skeleton as they made their way to the restaurant. </p><p>Sans held open the door for Charlie as she stepped in with a relieved sigh, unfolding her arms that were wrapped around herself as warmth washed over her. “Hey Grillby!” The skeleton called, hailing the fire monster at the bar. The man waved, setting down the dish he was wiping as the two took a seat at a nearby booth. </p><p>The man came to them with a notepad and pencil in hand. “Just the usual for me,” Sans requested, putting an arm casually on the table. The monster nodded, turning to Charlie. “Oh-um,” she fumbled, skimming the menu. There were a lot of options and she didn’t really have the time to examine them all. She tensed as she tried to choose quickly, becoming increasingly anxious as the two waited for her answer. </p><p>“I’ll-I’ll just get the diner special,” she said quietly at last. Grillby jotted something down on his notepad and nodded, taking her menu as he left the two alone. </p><p>“So...how have you been?” Sans asked, cupping his face in one hand as he put his weight on his elbow. “Oh-you know, just-fine...” Charlie answered awkwardly. “Just been with the gang, ha...ha. Um, what about you?” </p><p>The skeleton shrugged. “The surface is nice. Toriel and Asgore are working things out, and Frisk is living with them, so things are coming together well,” he replied, toying with the salt-shaker. “I’m happy to hear that,” Charlie said, though she didn’t really know who the human child was. They sounded nice. </p><p>She opened her mouth to continue when Grillby came to their table with their orders. “Thanks,” the girl said as he set down a plate of a small burger and fries in front of her. The monster nodded and put a deli-style bottle of ketchup on the table and left. “Guess mine was done first,” she joked, taking a sip of her soda. Sans chuckled and shook his head. “My orders never take preparation,” he said, taking a swig from the ketchup bottle. </p><p>Charlie watched in bewilderment as he put the condiment down. “You just ordered...ketchup?” She asked in disbelief. The skeleton nodded. Charlie said nothing for a moment before she snorted, putting a hand over her mouth as she began to laugh. “What’s so funny?” Sans asked, cocking his head.  </p><p>“I’m sorry, it’s just-really? Just ketchup?” She questioned as her cheeks reddened from laughing. “Yeah? Somethin’ wrong?” The skeleton asked with a teasing smile. “No, no, it’s just funny is all,” the girl responded, taking her hand from her face. </p><p>“So, my eating ketchup is more humorous than my puns?” Sans questioned. Charlie shrugged with a grin, twiddling a fry in her fingers. “Fair enough,” he replied with a shrug. </p><p>“You know...I’ve really missed seeing you,” he added. The girl paused, one fry halfway to her mouth. “R...really?” She questioned, lowering her hand. The skeleton chuckled with a hint of sheepishness as a light blush appeared on his cheeks. Charlie raised an eyebrow...she didn’t know he could blush, and she found herself thinking it cute...then felt her face redden in return.  </p><p>“Uh-huh...” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, you were really fun to hang with.” </p><p>Charlie felt her face flush even more and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to distract herself with it. “Yeah, I mean-I’ve been thinking about you a lot,” she added in a quieter tone. “Really?” The skeleton replied, eyes brightening. She bit her lip as the corners of her mouth pulled upward into a small smile. Sans’ grin became more genuine at the remark. “Well, sounds like we gotta hang out more often,” he said, a hint of exuberance in his voice that he tried to hide. </p><p>“I’d like that,” she responded warmly.  </p><p>------------- </p><p>For the next half hour, they enjoyed their meals (or rather, Charlie did while Sans emptied the ketchup bottle) until Sans’ phone began to buzz.  </p><p>“Oh-Pap wants us home. Ready to go?” He said, looking up from his screen. Charlie nodded, looking at her mostly empty plate. Sans dropped a few gold coins on the table with a wink as they stood. “Don’t want to make poor Grillbz put another thing on my tab.” </p><p>The two walked out of the building, waving at the other patrons as they left. “Woah,” Charlie said with a shiver as a gust of bitter wind blew around them, causing swirls of snowflakes to fly about. “It gets really c-cold down here,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. </p><p>The girl squeaked as she felt Sans set his jacket on her shoulders. “T-Thanks,” she stuttered, pulling it tighter around her arms. “W-Wait, what about you?” She asked, realizing he was now only in his shorts and t-shirt. “I don’t get cold. Or hot. Benefits of not having skin,” the skeleton grinned, putting his hands in his pockets. </p><p>As they approached the house, they paused at the mailbox. “Hey...before you leave, do you maybe wanna go to Waterfall with me? We don’t have stars down here, but I’ve got something just as nice,” Sans said, less shy than when he first asked her to Grillby’s. Charlie smiled. “That sounds great,” she said with a wide smile.  </p><p>“Thanks, Sans...I had a nice time,” she added, leaning in to give him a hug. The monster returned the embrace with a flutter in his chest. Before he could react properly, she had let him go and was turning to the door. He hurried to follow after as they entered the house. </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Ellie was sitting at the table in the kitchen working on the code when Charlie and Sans walked in the door. Papyrus’s face lit up, “THEY’RE HOME!” Ellie smiled, “guess so, how do you think it went?” Papyrus looked up at the door, then back at Ellie, a smiling creeping across his face, “I’LL HAVE TO ASK HIM TONIGHT WHEN SHE’S NOT AROUND!!” Ellie laughed, “of course!”  </p><p>Papyrus rushed out of the kitchen, Jeremy following as they entered the room with everyone else. Charlie and Sans were taking their places at a couch in the living room next to where Jim and Daria were watching a movie.  </p><p>Ellie smiled as she heard everyone laugh. She glanced out into the crowd of her friends, Charlie and Sans both looked very happy, good sign. She shook her head, bringing her attention back to the screen in front of her. She had made decent progress with the host privileges styled code she was trying to set up, but it was still going to be awhile.  </p><p>She sighed as the side of her screen lit up with the red explanation mark, letting her know that something didn’t or wouldn’t work. She loved programming, but sometimes it drove her crazy.  </p><p>She had decided to keep all the code that was written for certain tasks that Gaster was abusing his right to, just lock them in a private section that would require a “host” to enable a certain being to use them. After thinking about it, she decided that Sans would probably be the best host for Undertale, given his experience and how familiar he was with code already.  </p><p>She finished up one of the loops she was writing to help alarm Sans, and her laptop, if someone was tampering, or attempting to tamper, with any of the code related to the host privileges. Feeling her boredom of coding for the past 4 hours straight with no breaks, and the sudden amount of energy she had, she closed to screen to her laptop and walked out into the room with everyone else. </p><p>She walked near the walls, eventually cutting across and sitting on the floor in front of the chairs next to Papyrus. They were watching Kung Fu Panda 2, Ellie remembered watching the film when she was younger, but didn’t remember much about it. She knew Daria loved the series.  </p><p> she looked around for her friend, trying to see if she was even there. She smiled as she found her. She was curled up next to Jim on the couch, half asleep as Jim was running his hand through her hair while watching the screen. She sighed, getting comfortable as she focused her attention in on the movie. </p><p>“ODD IDEA IS IT NOT? A PANDA THAT KNOWS KUNG FU FIGHTING A PEACOCK?” Charlie laughed, “wonder who came up with that one.” Sans looked at Charlie, laughing, “whoever it is could use some inner peace for themselves, this is pretty far-fetched” Charlie laughed.  </p><p>It had only been a few minutes before Jeremy spoke up, “Shen sounds like he’s twelve but looks like he’s 50.” Ellie snorted. Daria sat up a little, sleepily contributing to the conversation, “no he doesn’t.”  </p><p>Jeremy stared back at the screen, he looked as confused as ever as the bird went about his part in the movie, “no, he definitely does.” he finally responded. Daria laughed, “he’s like in his thirties or something”  </p><p>Jeremy continued staring at the screen, “then why does he sound like he’s some edgy 12-year-old that wants to rule the world?” Ellie started laughing again, “because he basically is” Jeremy held his hand out at Ellie, looking back at Daria. “see!!” Daria rolled her eyes sarcastically, “he’s not- never mind.” Jim laughed, “I’m with Daria. He is kind of giving off wanna be edgy 12-year-old vibes though”  </p><p>Jeremy laughed, as Shen struck a battle stance and a fight scene started, “go get em Lord Shin, steal those knee caps.” he whispered under his breath, Ellie giggled, letting Jeremy know she heard him, “we believe in you big bird” she said quietly. Jeremy laughed, Charlie looked at him, “what do you have against him?” He shrugged, “dunno.” Charlie raised an eyebrow, laughing, “k.”  </p><p>By the time the movie had ended, Daria and Sans had both fallen asleep. The rest of them put the movie away as Papyrus helped them figure out where to sleep for the night, setting up little spots for everyone throughout the living room.  </p><p>They had decided to let Jim and Daria have the couch that Daria was already sleeping on. Sans got the chair he was on as well, despite him having his own room upstairs. The rest of them went wherever they wanted on the floor, each of them falling asleep rather quickly. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Papyrus had decided to let them all sleep in considering they had nothing to do all day and they were all exhausted. Daria was the first one awake. She walked into the kitchen, greeted by Papyrus who was making breakfast. “GOOD MORNING DARIA!” Papyrus questioned as the girl took a seat at the table. “Good morning!”  </p><p>Papyrus turned around as he placed an oven mitt on the counter, “DID YOU SLEEP WELL?” Daria yawned, “not really. But it’s not anything new, been happening for a while.” Papyrus looked up at the girl, concerned, “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Daria smiled, “yeah, yeah I'm good! Just tired.”  </p><p>Papyrus sighed, “WELL THAT’S NOT VERY GOOD! METTATON HAS A SHOW TONIGHT I WAS GOING TO SEE IF YOU GUYS WANTED TO COME! WE DON’T HAVE TO OF COURSE IF YOU’RE TIRED!” Daria smiled, “No! I think that’s a great idea, sounds like a blast!” Papyrus smiled, “GREAT!! WE CAN ASK THE OTHERS AT BREAKFAST!”  </p><p>To Daria and Papyrus’s surprise, the next person awake was Sans. He slowly walked in, yawning as he waved at the two, Jim following in shortly after. Sans collapsed on the counter stool and immediately closed his eyes again. Jim took a seat next to Daria. </p><p>“i woke up and you were gone, scared me for a second.” Jim laughed as he put his arm around Daria’s shoulder. She laughed, “Oh, yeah sorry. You were still sleeping; I didn’t want to wake you up.” Jim smiled, “no no it’s ok!”  </p><p>Papyrus whipped his head around, waving the spatula in the air, “YOU TWO REALLY ARE JUST PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER AREN’T YOU!” Daria felt her face go red as Jim rested his head on hers. Jim laughed, “yeah...” Papyrus smiled, turning to face sans as he rolled his eyes, “SANS YOU JUST GOT UP!!” Sans smiled, “heh, and i'm just going to sleep.”  </p><p>Papyrus stared down at his older brother, about ready to lecture him when Charlie and Ellie walked in. He turned towards the entrance, smiling, “HELLO CHARLIE! HELLO ELLIE!” Sans immediately sat up, looking over to entrance as well. Charlie smiled, “hey!” Ellie nudged Charlie’s shoulder over toward the counter as she went to opposite direction to the table, sitting across from Daria.  </p><p>Charlie sat down next to Sans. “heya” he said, trying not to show how tired he was. Charlie smiled, “you tired?” Sans laughed, “uh, maybe?” Charlie yawned, “i am too haha” Sans smiled, looking down at his hands, “didn’t sleep too great?” Charlie smiled, “not really, but it’s ok. I’m not used to getting to sleep at all.” Sans frowned, “oh, yeah. Forgot, sorry.” Charlie looked up quickly, “no no it’s ok! I’m not as sensitive about it as you’d think...” Sans chuckled turning to the entrance as Jeremy walked in.  </p><p>Charlie laughed, “ha, slow poke” Jeremy stuffed his hands into his hoodie pocket as he sarcastically stuck his tongue out, “it’s called I never get to sleep so I enjoy it while I can” Charlie raised an eyebrow, “guess so huh.” Jeremy nodded, collapsing at the table across from Jim.  </p><p>“WELL, I GUESS NOW THAT YOU’RE ALL HERE WE CAN EAT BREAKFAST!” Sans laughed, “sounds great”  </p><p>Papyrus handed out plates of eggs, sausage, and muffins to everyone before sitting down at the end of the table. “I WAS TELLING DARIA BEFORE EVERYONE GOT HERE, SINCE YOU WILL ALL STILL BE HERE TODAY SEEING AS THE CODE ISN’T READY YET, I WANTED TO SEE IF ANYONE WANTED TO GO TO METTATON’S CONCERT THIS AFTERNOON!” Charlie’s face lit up, “that sounds like a blast!!” Everyone nodded in agreement. “FANTASTIC! IT STARTS AT 1PM AND SHOULD END AROUND 4 IF I’M CORRECT! YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU’D LIKE FROM THERE!” Everyone agreed as they all finished their meal.  </p><p>After they were all done eating, they mainly just stayed and talked around the table, since there was nothing else to do. Sans loved his friends, but it was way more socializing than he was used to. He stood up, yawning. He easily snuck out the door to the kitchen as everyone was too engaged in the conversation to notice him leaving.  </p><p>He climbed the stairs to his bedroom as he shut the door behind him and sat on his bed. He didn’t know why but everything that Gaster had been doing these past few weeks was bugging him. He wasn’t doing anything bad leaving, so why was Gaster getting so upset? He sighed, pulling his hands out of his pockets and staring at them in his lap. He jumped, startled, as a knock on his door took him by surprise. “yeah?”  </p><p>The door slowly opened, “you good?” Sans smiled, it was Charlie, “oh yeah heh, you can come in.” Charlie opened the door, looking around the room before focusing in on Sans, “hey” She said, “noticed you left.” Sans laughed, “yeah, sorry. Not used to talking to people so much I guess.” Charlie laughed, “yeah, me too.”  </p><p>Sans wrapped his hand around the back of his neck, “you can sit down if you’d like!” he could feel his face go a little blue as she nodded. He had come up here to get away from people, sure; but he didn’t necessarily mind just Charlie. He liked being around her, preferred it actually. He blushed more at the thought.  </p><p>“you excited for the concert?” Charlie asked. “i’ve been so a few of them with pap, they’re actually pretty fun so yeah I'm excited!” Charlie smiled, “that’s good!” Sans looked up at Charlie, “hey, since it’s going to end around 4 do you maybe wanna go to waterfall afterwards?” Charlie met his eyes, smiling, “I'd love to!” Sans chuckled, “great! What time even is it?” Charlie shrugged, “around 11 I think” Sans nodded, “heh, thanks.” Charlie nodded, “i should probably go back downstairs, told papyrus I'd friendly duel him” Sans laughed, “i guess you do have magic huh!” Charlie giggled, standing up as she walked to the door.  </p><p>“yeah! I'll come get you when we leave... if you aren’t already down there that is...” Sans laughed, “sounds great, thanks!” Charlie smiled as she shut the door behind her.  </p><p>Sans sighed; he hadn’t ever really had any romantic interest in anyone before. He had finally accepted that he maybe liked Charlie a little towards the last time they were all together but being away from her for 5 years after that was not something he wanted to do again. That’s why he had decided to ask her out.  </p><p>Papyrus had thought he was sick, or something was seriously wrong when he had told him his plans, but he just couldn’t help but see something in Charlie that made her different than anyone else he knew. </p><p>He sighed; this was so unlike him. Why did it all make him so happy? He had no clue, he just hoped that something would happen so that he could stop stressing over the situation. He closed his eyes, letting the thought of sleep take over his thoughts instead.  </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>“Woohoo!” the audience shouted, punching the air with his fist as Mettaton curtsied, finishing his performance. Nearly a hundred monsters showed to the concert (which Sans said was a rarity) and after partying for almost three hours, things were finally coming to a close. </p><p>“Wow,” Jeremy remarked with a smile as Ellie popped another confetti bomb beside him. They were erupting everywhere from the monsters that purchased them at the concession stands. “Who knew that monster concerts were so much funner than ours?”  </p><p>“YOU’VE REALLY BEEN MISSING OUT!” Papyrus hollered with a gleeful bounce, standing nearly a foot above the other audience members. “NOTHING BEATS METTATON-EXCEPT FOR MY AWESOME FIGHTING SKILLS, OF COURSE!” </p><p>“Heck yeah, bro. That robot’s got nothin’ on ya,” Sans chuckled as fireworks screamed, flying through the air until they exploded high above the stage.  </p><p>“Thank you all for coming, darlings!” Mettaton sang with a flourish. “Adieu!” He waved, backing behind the pink, sparkling curtains. The monsters whooped and cheered, many taking the chance to exit out the back. </p><p>“Let’s get outta here before we get trampled!” Sans yelled to the others, cupping his hands around his mouth. The group raced to the gates, laughing and giggling madly as they clumsily tripped and bumped into each other in their haste. </p><p>They rounded out across the road into the snow as some larger monsters in worker’s overalls came out from the stands carrying parts of the makeshift stage. “They close up fast,” Daria remarked. “That’s how Metta rolls. In and out,” Sans said, checking his watch. “Everyone can go do their own thing, how about we meet back at my place around six thirty?” </p><p>“Sounds great,” Jeremy responded, nudging Ellie as he slung his guitar case over his shoulder. “Wanna come with me?” He asked.  </p><p>“What are we doing?” She asked, curious as a grin crossed his face. “Well, I was going to go say ‘hi’ to Toriel since Gabe and Susie and Fritz had a good time staying with her last time, but you probably know the way there better than I do,” he said with a grin. </p><p>“Yeah, I’d love to!” Ellie replied cheerfully. “Sweet-we’ll see you guys later!” The boy said with a grin, taking off down the snowy road, Ellie close behind. </p><p>“Welp. Me an’ Charlie are goin’ to Waterfall,” Sans added with a chuckle, pointing back. “Fun!” Daria smiled, winking discreetly at Charlie. The girl shook her head with a smile, though her cheeks tinted pink for a moment. “Well, what are you guys doing?” She said, redirecting the attention. </p><p>“First we’re gonna stop at the shop in town, see if they’ve got any sleeping meds,” Jim replied. “We thought we’d just go explore the forests around here, see if we can find anything interesting.” </p><p>“Cool,” Sans said, hands in his pockets. “Ready to go, Charlie?”  </p><p>The girl nodded, waving at the others as they turned towards the bridge path to Waterfall. “Bye guys!” </p><p>“Have fun!” Daria waved as the rest of the group split. </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>Sans and Charlie started down the dirt path through Wetlands, saying hello to the occasional monster in the weeds around them. “So, what is it you wanted to show me?” Charlie asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.  </p><p> </p><p>“Just a thing I fell in love with when I was a kid. See, I was always into astronomy stuff, but we couldn’t see stars from down here, so I found the next best thing,” the skeleton replied with a happy smile.  </p><p> </p><p>The two turned a corner to another hallway, but instead of continuing down it, Sans gently tugged Charlie’s jacket sleeve and lead her another direction. “Here,” he said, moving to stand in front of a telescope standing dormant in a cave crevice.  </p><p> </p><p>Charlie looked at it quizzically, giving a confused look. It was pointing straight at the wall, surely there wasn’t anything to see, right? “Go ahead,” Sans said with a smile. The girl raised an eyebrow, hesitant as she lowered her face to the eyehole. Her eyelashes fluttered at the sudden closeness, taking a minute to focus on the image displayed inside. Her mouth fell agape as the telescope showed dozens of glowing crystals embedded in the rock. </p><p> </p><p>“Wow,” she said softly, a smile growing on her face. “They’re kinda hidden up in a hole in there, so the best way to see em is with this baby,” the skeleton remarked. “You know, I usually charge a lot of G for this view, but you get the premium stuff,” he said with a chuckle. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, really?” Charlie replied with a growing grin. “What do I owe you?” She asked, moving the scope alignments. “A laugh,” Sans responded. </p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” The girl asked, confused. She drew her face from the telescope, unaware of a large red circle around her eye. Sans tried to contain his amusement, but in seconds had erupted into laughter. “What’s so funny?” Charlie asked, thoroughly confused. </p><p> </p><p>“You’ve made your payment buddy,” the skeleton said, shoulders shaking as he tried to calm his laughter. Charlie raised an eyebrow as Sans took a small hand-mirror from his jacket. He handed it to her, wiping a tear from his eye socket as his chuckles finally began to subside. The girl raised it to her face and snorted. “Real mature Sans,” she said, laughing herself as she rubbed at the red paint with her fingers.  </p><p> </p><p>“Wow,” she giggled as the red only smeared around the rest of her face. “Here, I’ve got it,” the skeleton said, a pink glow on his cheekbones still visible from his laughter. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped away the paint, leaving a slightly reddened mark still around her eye. Charlie looked back at the mirror and shrugged with a grin. “Good enough,” she chuckled, handing the mirror back.  </p><p> </p><p>“Keep it,” the skeleton said, bending to grab a small tin hidden behind one of the rocks around them. He popped the lid and dipped his fingers inside, scooping up a gob of paint, moving to smear it back over the telescope lens. “Super classy, Sans,” Charlie giggled, shaking her head. </p><p> </p><p>The skeleton shrugged, putting the tin back as he wiped his hand. “Well, what do you want to do now?” He asked, putting his hands in his pockets. “I dunno. Got any ideas?” The girl replied, mimicking the gesture. “Well...” Sans said, a thoughtful look on his face. “There’s a fancy restaurant down in Hotlands, if you’re feelin’ peckish,” he suggested.  </p><p> </p><p>“Sure, why not?” Charlie smiled, following Sans down the corridor. </p><p> </p><p>… </p><p> </p><p>It took a while to get there, but when they did, Charlie was not disappointed. “This is it?” She asked as the two entered a Mettaton hotel. “Yup,” the skeleton replied as they made their way through the golden lobby. </p><p> </p><p>“I had no idea that Mettaton’s business was so...expansive,” she remarked as she followed the monster into another room. “Yeah, he’s pretty into himself, but that’s fine I guess. To each his own. The nice thing about being friends with him is you get free services,” the skeleton continued, leading her through the restaurant entrance. </p><p> </p><p>The two sat at one of the purple tables as a waiter hurried up behind them. “What can I get you folks tonight?” A cat monster asked, pen and paper in hand. “Glamburger and steak please, Whisk,” Sans replied. Charlie glanced at the monster’s nametag on his shirt and raised an eyebrow, making a connection with his name and species. Monsters had a much different culture here, she thought to herself as the waiter left, leaving the two alone. </p><p> </p><p>“So, how are you liking the Underground?” Sans asked, fingering the spoon set in front of him. “It’s nice,” Charlie remarked with a smile. “But I do miss the sun.” The skeleton nodded. “Yeah, I remember the first time Paps saw it. I don’t think he’d ever heard of the sun before, really,” he said with a chuckle. Charlie smiled, imagining how the happening would have gone before the waiter returned bearing two plates of food.  </p><p> </p><p>“Anything else I can help you two with tonight?” He asked, tucking the notepad under his elbow. Sans shook his head. “Thanks buddy,” he said as the cat nodded, turning to new guests arriving at the entrance. </p><p> </p><p>The two ate quietly for a moment-more so Sans than Charlie as she was still getting over the fact that her meal was literally in the shape of Mettaton’s face. She half-wished that she had gotten a glamburger as well, but the steak was fine, so she wouldn’t complain. </p><p> </p><p>“So...what have you been up to, now that the Underground’s been liberated?” Charlie asked shyly, taking a sip of her water. “Well...I actually took up a small internship at a science university in town. Bills are expensive on the surface and I don’t want Pap to have to pay for everything, you know?” He responded, setting his meal down. “That sounds promising,” Charlie remarked, interested.  </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, looks like it could be good work. You know, I was a lab assistant here for a while before Gaster went all hay-wire. Monsters have a deeper understanding of nano-physics and stuff, so it was easy to get the job,” Sans said with a lazy smile. “Plus, hopefully humans will be a little more accepting if there’s something we could bring to the science community, though Mettaton’s been doing pretty good in entertainment.” </p><p> </p><p>Charlie giggled slightly with a nod. “I can imagine,” she said as Sans phone buzzed on the table. He flipped it over, reading a text on screen. “Everyone’s heading home, so I guess we should too,” he said, standing. Charlie nodded, leaving some of her meal still on her plate as the two made their way out of the restaurant.  </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for coming!” Whisk called with a wave as he passed the two, heading to another table. “Anytime,” Sans responded with a wave as they continued out of the hotel. </p><p> </p><p>They walked in silence for a little while, making their way back to Waterfall. Charlie didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt just a little anxious being alone with him-not in a bad way, but just...nervous. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Charlie?” Sans said, cutting into the quiet as they started making their way over one of the Waterfall bridges. “Can I ask you something?” He said, slowing to a stop. She turned to face him. “You just did,” she said with a small giggle. The skeleton smiled, chuckling, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sure did,” he said, though Charlie noticed a light hue beginning to glow on his cheekbones. </p><p> </p><p>“Um...Charlie, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, and in all honesty, I’ve been wanting to do that ever since our little adventure a few years ago, and it-it's been really great getting to do that now,” the skeleton said with a nervous waver in his voice. Charlie raised an eyebrow as he continued. </p><p> </p><p>“And, I’ve been wondering-well, if you-if you’ve been happy spending time with me too?” He asked. Charlie was surprised at the question, thinking her answer obvious. “Yeah, yeah I have,” she replied. “It’s been nice, Sans.” </p><p> </p><p>The skeleton’s tight smile relaxed into something more genuine. “I’d like to keep doing this, if that’s okay with you,” he said a little quieter. Charlie felt a smile gently tugging at her lips. “I’d like that too,” she responded. </p><p> </p><p>Sans swallowed. “Charlie...I was wondering if you’d...like to be my girlfriend?” He asked finally, hesitant in his offer. Charlie felt her cheeks flush and her heart-beat quicken. Was he really asking what she thought he asked? </p><p> </p><p>“Do you mean it?” She asked, barely registering the words slipping out of her mouth. Sans nodded. She paused for a moment, still unsure of what to do before she returned the gesture. “Then, yes,” she said with a smile.  </p><p> </p><p>Sans seemed to be taken aback by her answer, as if he wasn’t expecting her approval. Then, a giant grin grew on his face as he laughed, suddenly picking her up around her waist, swinging her gently around. Charlie found herself giggling, putting her arms around his neck, face thoroughly flushed as he slowed, setting her down. </p><p> </p><p>Her hands were still around his shoulders, though she didn’t want to move them. Sans’ arms were wrapped around her waist, and he wasn’t making any signs to move either. Charlie felt her heartbeat quicken as she found herself leaning up closer to the skeleton, completely unaware of anything around them as he leaned down to her as well. </p><p> </p><p>Charlie felt her lips gently touch Sans’ as the two kissed softly. Adrenaline was coursing through her, but she felt no instinct to run. She was quite content at where she was. After a few moments, the two pulled away, looking happily at each other. </p><p> </p><p>“Ready to go?” Sans asked quietly with a gentle smile. Charlie nodded, stepping away as the skeleton’s hand curled into hers.  </p><p> </p><p>For once, Charlie was glad she didn’t go home. </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take long for the two to get home. Sans opened the door for Charlie, smiling as she quickly walked in. Everyone was sitting on the couches, watching what looked like Kung fu Panda 3.  </p><p> </p><p>They all looked over eagerly as the two walked in the door, snowflakes and a gust of cold air following them. </p><p> </p><p>“HELLO!” Papyrus called. Sans smiled, “heya, how are you guys?” Jim laughed, “Great. You two?” Sans looked at Charlie, the two smiling as they laughed. Charlie looked up, blushing, “uh- really great! Haha...”  </p><p> </p><p>The group stared at them, confused looks on their faces. Daria and Ellie’s looks especially catching Charlie’s eye. She smiled as they stared at her.  </p><p> </p><p>Sans grabbed Charlie’s hand, leading her to the living room by the TV as they sat next to each other on the floor. Daria gave Ellie a look, to which Ellie smiled. She knew what they were going to do tonight; Charlie had some explaining to do. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>It didn’t take too long after the movie had finished for everyone to go their separate ways to their respective places in the room for sleeping. Everyone except Charlie, Daria, and Ellie that was. </p><p> </p><p>The two girls pulled Charlie into the kitchen, shutting the door as they rushed to the table.  </p><p> </p><p>“You already know what we’re going to ask.” Ellie said, smiling. Charlie smiled, “Nope.” Daria sighed, “You know you do! How was your date with Sans!!!” Charlie blushed, “It was good...”  </p><p> </p><p>Daria stared at the girl, “And...??” Charlie laughed, “And uh... we’re a thing now...” Ellie threw her hands in the air as she spun around, Daria sitting there smiling. “NO WAY!!!! REALLY?!” Ellie asked. Charlie laughed, “Yeah, really!” Daria laughed, “Oh my gosh!!! That’s amazing Charlie!!!”  </p><p> </p><p>Charlie sighed, rubbing her hands together as she smiled to herself, “Yeah... it is isn’t it...” Ellie laughed, “This is amazing oh my gosh!” Charlie smiled, “heh,” She looked up, “Well there you have it, you guys going to bed now?” The two both laughed, “Yeah, we probably should.” Ellie said, still smiling. </p><p> </p><p>Daria nodded, “Thanks for telling us Charlie!!” Ellie laughed, “Yeah! We’re so happy for you two!!” Charlie blushed, “yeah no problem and uh thanks”  </p><p> </p><p>The three snuck out of the kitchen, tripping over what felt like half the items in the house before finding where they were going to sleep and climbing in bed. Charlie still couldn’t believe what had happened. </p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- </p><p>The next morning was slow, most everyone sleeping in until around 9:30. Ellie was the one that had gotten up. She wanted to finish the program by that afternoon, and was close enough that she had decided to get up early and do it asap.  </p><p> </p><p>The host privileges like program was working out even better than Ellie had anticipated, which was good. It would give Sans a lot more control than just with Gaster, which would hopefully solve a lot more problems than just the Gaster one.  </p><p> </p><p>She could tell she had been doing it for almost too long when every little thing that she would have to fix became very annoying and almost infuriating. Thankfully, by that point, Papyrus had woken up and was starting to make breakfast as more and more people trailed in. It gave her an excuse to take a break, a much needed one.  </p><p> </p><p>They talked for around an hour before flocking to the living room to do whatever they pleased. Ellie had finally finished the program and was just downloading it onto the real game’s code at almost 2:15pm. Exactly what time she had hoped she would finish by. </p><p> </p><p>She walked out in to the living room, “Hey Sans, can you come here for a minute?” Sans looked over, “yeah.” He walked to the kitchen with her, sitting down at the table.  </p><p> </p><p>“I finished it, and I made you the host of the program. You can control it with your magic.” Sans stared blankly at the computer screen, “uh huh. And what exactly do I do?”  </p><p> </p><p>Ellie scrolled to the top of the page, “i set it up so that if something is suddenly different, you’ll be able to tell. You can already see the numbers and code information of everyone here, now you’ll be able to control and monitor it more instead of just looking at it.”  </p><p> </p><p>Sans nodded, “so I can change things?” Ellie shook her head, “kind of. You can’t alter someone’s timeline, but you can see dangers more easily and stop them before they happen. I don’t know how to explain it, but you’ll be able to tell.”  </p><p> </p><p>Sans nodded, “alright, cool.” Ellie smiled, “yup. That's all I think. Oh other than this will need updating, something that I can do from this laptop. I’ll clearly label it’s me doing it though so you know it’s not Gaster or what-not.” Sans gave her a thumbs up, “sounds great. Thanks!” Ellie nodded, “for sure. And I guess we can leave now...” Sans frowned, “dang that’s true.” </p><p> </p><p>The two stood up, walking into the living room as everyone looked up. “it’s all done!” Ellie said, trying to sound happy. She didn’t exactly want to go home to everything she had to do at the moment.  </p><p> </p><p>Daria smiled, “great!” Charlie frowned, “are we going home then?” Sans sighed, “guess so.”  </p><p> </p><p>Jim smiled, “We need to hangout more though, 5 years was waaaay too long!” Daria laughed, “oh for sure!!” Charlie laughed, “yeah.... well, Jeremy you ready to leave then?” Jeremy looked up, “Oh, yeah.” Charlie nodded, “Well um, it was great seeing you all again!” </p><p> </p><p>“yeah it was!!” Daria replied, smiling.  </p><p> </p><p>Sans walked over, opening the door as they all stepped out. He gave Charlie a hug just before they walked out, “We won’t go 5 years again. There’s not a lot going on right now, so you’ll have to come over again sometime soon!” Charlie smiled, “i’d love that! I'll miss you!” Sans smiled, ever so slightly blushing, “yeah I'll miss you too.” Charlie gave him another hug, kissing him before they walked out into the snow to meet with the rest of the group. </p><p> </p><p>Everyone said their goodbyes, hugging as many people as they could before Ellie pulled out her laptop again, looking up at everyone, “everyone good to go?” Everyone nodded, all looking noticeably saddened by returning to their real lives. Ellie nodded, running the program as everything faded into white around them. Opening their eyes again to each take in the scenery of their own universes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok, I wanted to just say something.<br/>We do have a lot of ships going on in this book, we know. We really love writing romance and as the characters with the personalities we've given them have grown, we see them being really cute together and working well together in a relationship. Not to mention, the missing kids don't really know anyone else so yA kNoW.<br/>Yeah, I just wanted to say that in case someone didn't like the Charlie x Sans, we don't ship them outside of this book. We never even thought of it until now and thought they'd go well together with the personalities we gave them for this book specifically... aNyWayS, HAVE A GREAT DAY!! thank you for reading!! :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>